What REALLY Happens When You Miss a Birth Control Pill

Everyone does this. Your phone alarm goes off letting you know it’s time to take your birth control and you, with every intention of getting up to take it, silence that notification. Then you go right back to living your life without taking your pill, even though seconds before you were ready to celebrate your freedom and fight unwanted pregnancy. Look, everyone skips a pill now and again and it causes actual panic. But, according to BuzzFeed, you don’t exactly have to go into crisis mode.

If you’re on a combination pill — meaning it has both estrogen and progestin — and you’re typically good about taking your pill every day around the same time, Buzzfeed says you have nothing to worry about if you miss one. Just like the pack says, take it as soon as you remember. If you don’t remember until the next day, just take two that day. This won’t cause your body to freak out, and it definitely doesn’t mean you’ll for sure get pregnant, even if you did have sex the day you missed your pill and didn’t use a backup method of protection.

Of course, most birth control pills are very effective, but around 9 of 100 women get pregnant when incorrectly using the pill according to Planned Parenthood. Incorrectly using it means missing some doses, so you definitely shouldn’t be lax about your schedule. Missing one, though, won’t put you at a huge risk.

This advice is only good for those combination pills, though. If you’re on a progestin-only dose, Planned Parenthood says you have to take the pill at the same day every day, meaning you do risk pregnancy with a missed dose. It’s also important to keep in mind that certain pills in the combination pack carry a higher risk for missing. If you miss the first pill in a new cycle or the last before your inactive pills, your body might get confused and start ovulating, putting you at risk for pregnancy. The same goes for missing more than one pill in a row.

If you missed a pill and you’re worried about getting pregnant, the good news is condoms always have your back. Whether or not you need it, using a condom or other sexual barrier can calm your fears and protect you from STIs. Actually, if you’re having sex with non-monogamous partners, or a partner who hasn’t been tested, it’s a good idea to use some type of barrier during any sexual contact.

Now, if you're missing a pill — just one — numerous times in a cycle, we need to have a chat. If you're a chronic pill-misser you should probably switch up your birth control method. There are plenty of options out there like the IUD that are basically set it and forget it, meaning you don't even have to think twice about preventing unwanted pregnancy.

That’s the best part of birth control – you always have options. Check out what your options are here.